THE LAST CHRISTIAN by DAVID GREGORY This #SciFi/ #ChristFic book has a lot going on. It's an intriguing story on the #SciFi side of things, and a mix of good and blah, on the #ChristFic side of things. I don't really recommend this book.
Fiction Story
After her entire village dies from a mysterious disease, Abby Caldwell, the daughter of missionaries emerges from the jungle into "the real world" for the first time in her life.
She goes to America where she hopes to reunite with a grandfather she has never met. Abby is surprised to find a culture different from that she had grown up hearing about. The year is 2088 and although the mega-church buildings still stand, they stand empty. The American culture is completely void of her christian faith.
She is further surprised to receive a message from her now deceased grandfather that had failed to reach her in the Jungles of Papua New Guinea. The message charges her with the sole responsibility of reigniting the christian faith in America. Her seemingly impossible task is made more difficult by a group of powerful men who have plans of their own, not just for America, but for the world.
A large tech company has perfected the procedures for building and implanting artificial brains, promising super intelligence and even hinting at eternal life (at least from the eyes up) But what does eternal human consciousness on Earth mean for the eternal human spirit?
The story ends with that evil plan poised to launch, and with a small rag-tag band of believers who stand against it.
Christian Story
The author called the main message of this story "the rest of the gospel."
Abby Caldwell came to America with a good message, to believe what the Bible says about us and what it says about God. It was a message that starts with the realization of sin, calling for repentance and faith, and ends with God's response of salvation.
A great message.
During her struggles in 2088 American culture, Abby learns that she was missing a huge part of the gospel. That is, all that comes along with salvation. "The rest of the gospel."
The author wanted to remind us about the life that must come as a result of salvation through repentance and faith in Christ. It is a life full of the Holy Spirit, spent walking in the light. It is an abiding life in Christ, the vine and the branches.
An awesome message. Even still, I am not recommending the book. If you like science fiction / pre-apocalyptic fiction, then you will like that aspect of the story. But if you like Christian Fiction, you'll find the "rest of the gospel" message off beat from the plot, forced in and not particularly well delivered. There was just something about it... Perhaps I was tainted by the disappointment of an earlier scene.
The Bad and the Ugly
I hate when books need this section.
At one point, Abby is given an opportunity to speak to a collage class and answer questions about the now extinct christian faith. The questions then, in 2088, are the same as today; "how can anyone believe in the Genesis account of creation when there is so much science against it?"
Sadly, the author chose a Gap Theory, or Day Age theory as a response. In a nut shell, the main character indicated that it was not in six days that God created the Earth, but six periods of time, millions, or even billions of years, as to keep inline with the modern scientific version of origins, and even evolution.
I believe supporters of the theory may have two noble, but wrong motives. (if not absolutely ennoble motives) First they desire the Bible to explain what we see in nature, and the second extends from the first, they want people to have a clear path to believe it.
I'm afraid they help no one. It would be more helpful to point out that science clearly informs us that virgins do not give birth, and that dead men do not resurrect themselves from the grave. These things are Miracles! Creation. The virgin birth. Resurrection. By definition they go against what we can observe in nature, from the view points of both cause and effect.
If Abby Caldwell (and us) were to treat the latter two as lightly as the first, we would not have a gospel of salvation to share. A good argument could be made that the Gap, or Day Age-type theories destroy the origin of man in much the same way as a similar approach to, say the virgin birth, would destroy what the Bible says about God.
I can almost imagine 2088, 69 years from now, Christians and Preachers debating whether the virgin birth is real or metaphorical. "It's impossible, for one," they will say. "But more importantly, if we want people to believe in Jesus, then we can't insult their intelligence and demand that they believe the literal virgin birth. Doesn't it make more sense," they might say, "that the word virgin, applied to Mary is referring to her noble nature, her pureness of heart?" They would have to go on to explain the obvious. "Of course, Mary is just as human as any of us, subject to the same temptations. Clearly she had sex before marriage, probably with Josef, but not necessarily. Isn't that what makes the story so amazing?" they'll say. "We are all just flawed beings, being used by God. We're all just human. Even Jesus."
There. Now we have a religion that lies about where man came from and where Jesus came from. Now we have a mankind that dose not need salvation, just more time. We'd have a savior who is just as likely to save us as we are to save ourselves. An artificial brain would be our best hope. Yikes.
Well, in the book it was only a one line statement responding to a question about creation. Maybe I went over board with my multi-paragraphed rant. Or maybe not. Maybe it should have been its own blog. ha-ha.
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